KADRMAS+v.+DICKINSON+PUBLIC+SCHOOLS

KADRMAS v. DICKINSON PUBLIC SCHOOLS, 487 U.S. 450 (1988) United States Supreme Court Argued March 30, 1988 Decided June 24, 1988

Background: The Appellants, a Dickinson schoolchild (Sarita Kadrmas) and her mother filed a state-court action seeking to enjoin Dickinson Public Schools from collecting any fees for bus services rendered to students attending non-reorganized schools in the district. The statute at issue here burdens a poor person's interest in an education and violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Court’s decision in Plyer v. Doe, supra, supports these propositions. It stated by denying equal opportunity to exactly those who need it most, the law not only militates against the ability of each poor child to advance herself or himself, but also increases the likelihood of the creation of a discrete and permanent underclass. Such a statute is difficult to reconcile with the framework of equality embodied in the Equal Protection Clause.

Decision and Rationale:

The Court ruled in favor of the Appellees stating that the Appellants have failed to prove that the distinction drawn by the statute between reorganized and non-reorganized school districts violates the Equal Protection Clause. The state has forbidden reorganized school districts to charge for bus fees, however Appellee Dickinson Public School chose not to participate in such reorganization. The distinction drawn in the 1979 statute between reorganized and non-reorganized school districts does not create an equal protection violation. Appellants failed to carry the heavy burden of demonstrating that the statute is both arbitrary and irrational.

Impact on Teaching:

Teachers and Faculty must find a way to effectively educate every student in their classroom. This presents a huge issue especially if the kids don’t have transportation to get them to their school. A statute that erects special obstacles to education in the path of the poor naturally tends to confine such persons to their current disadvantaged status. In other cases, children fall behind academically presenting more barriers down the road. Teachers and administrators must be aware of these transportation barriers and continue to assist families if the state burdens the access of poor persons to an education.

Fill in the blank.... The Equal Protection Clause is part of the _ __to the United States Constitution.__

__ Submitted by Samantha Knight __

 KADRMAS v. DICKINSON PUBLIC SCHOOLS

 Summary

In North Dakota school districts that are smaller are authorized to reorganize into larger districts so that education can be provided more efficiently. Appellee Dickinson Public School is a populated chose not to reorganize. In 1973 Dickinson charged fee for door-to-door bus transportation. Appellants are a Dickinson schoolchild (Sarita Kadrmas) and her mother. The family refused to agree to the fees and started transporting Sarita to school. They filed a suit, which was dismissed.

Decision

The Supreme Court held that the statute does not violate state law or Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and ruled in favor of the Appellees. The court rejected appellants' contention that the statute unconstitutionally discriminates on the basis of wealth. It also rejected the contention that the distinction drawn by the statute between reorganized and nonreorganized school districts violates the Equal Protection Clause." . The distinction drawn in the 1979 statute between reorganized and nonreorganized school districts does not create an equal protection violation.

Impact on Education

The biggest picture I got from the case is that there is a wide range of students with different racial and economic backgrounds. As teachers we should learn how to reach and teach all students of all backgrounds. Discrimination is something we should avoid in our classrooms as a whole including teachers and students. Educators should strive to make the classroom as comfortable and also a great learning environment for all students.

Applicable Question

Under North Dakota statutes, ___ school districts are authorized to "reorganize" themselves into larger districts so that education can be provided more efficiently.

By: Alex Mathis

Posted by: Joc'Lene Alston

U.S. Supreme Court

Kadrmas v. Dinkinson Public Schools

Argued: March 30, 1988 Decided: June 24, 1988

Thinly populated school districts, in North Dakota, have been authorized to "reorganize" into larger districts. This measure insures that education can be provided efficeiently to all students needing transprtation. Proposals for the reprganization had to provide provisions for student transportation to and from school. Dickinson Public Schools did not participate in the reoranization because it is a heavily populated area. The Dikinson Public School System implemented its own door-to-door bus service and began charging a fee for its service, but the fee for the service was not allowed to exceed the district's cost for providing this service to its students. Sarita Kadrmas' mother refused to pay the bus fee opting to provide her child's transportation to school. The Kadrmas family filed suit ahainst te school district seeking to enjoin the school district from collecting any fees for the bus service.
 * Backgorund: **

The supreme court of North Dakota upheld an earlier ruling that dismissed the action due to the holding that the 1979 statute did not violate the Equal Protection clause of the 14th Amendment or any state law. The court also rejected the contention that the statute unconstitutionally discriminates on the basis of wealth. The court found that the amout payed by the parents was small in comparison to what the service cost the district. The fees collected by the district from parents only accounted for 11% of the cost. Mrs. Kadrmas had also signed acontract with the district for the bus service and had made partial payments towards the bus service. The court found that the transportation service was authorized by provisions of state law and not by the challenged statute.
 * Decision and Rational: **

This case does not impact teaching. It only addresses a concern that faces many parents under financial hardships. The concern of transportation to school. Many parents are faced with this problem on a daily basis and it needs to be rectified, but the school system can only act withi it's own limits. Teachers are aware of this crisis for may of the children that they teach, but parents have to be able to step in and make decisions that are in the best interest of the child without being a hardship for the family.
 * Impact on Teaching: **

True or False: The Dickinson School System participated in the plan to reorganize their school districts into larger ones.